Sunday, 26 June 2016

BYE BYE ARCTIC CIRCLE. ..AND BYE BYE ERIC & JANICE

26th June 2016

Saturday 25th June
Up at crack of dawn and arrive ferry terminal 07.00 to find it deserted so we are first in queue for the 09.30 so we have tea and then breakfast as lots of motorhomes arrive after us. We are first on and first off a rather small roro ferry and the 2 hour crossing for £35 saves us 100kms and is £45 cheaper than the organised 1 hour crossing ....and the drive the other side is stunningly scenic along sky blue fjords. The actual sailing to SKUTVIK is also wonderful as we have the sunniest day for weeks. The plan was to drive to the next campsite at FAUSKE and have a shower, quick nap, refill the water etc and then head 100 kms south to spend the night at the Arctic Circle crossing where there is a large visitor centre and car park. As the campsite turned out to be a building site , moving on was an even better option than when first mooted.

So all but 5 units headed south minus Eric & Joyce who had effectively been told to leave the group due to their disruptive behaviour.....Janice had been rude to practically everyone (even the GF on the 2nd. night, so we hardly spoke to them again) and tensions had mounted as I had alluded to earlier. No doubt there will be repercussions for the tour leaders and the organisation but there was a completely different atmosphere immediately. We also lost another couple, Andrew and Jackie who had to return home due to a burst water tank in their house and Peter, a guy travelling on his own.....there were issues there as well, and Janice calling him Billy No Mates to his face didn't help.....but that 's the cow she was.
So 14 vans went to 66°33' and when we had all gathered by 21.00, we set our chairs in a big ring (that I christened the Arctic Circle a to less hilarity than it deserved) and a great number of wine boxes appeared, along with a lot of spirits and a very jolly time was had in lovely sunshine till gone midnight when the shadows from the mountains turned the air chilly.
We are of course still in the arctic circle,so we have had full on 24 hour daylight for the last month and I shall be sorry to see it go. The weather for the last 2 days has been terrific and our drive today took us over a mountain pass beneath northern Norway 's highest mountain at 1916 m with a view to the 2nd and 8 th largest glaciers from the park at the top. Nice campsite at MOSJŒN but we are back to civilisation with busy family sites and Norwegians taking full advantage of the light nights.